WWE: Why Cody Rhodes Will Be the Greatest Intercontinental Champ Ever

When Legacy first split up, fans feared that this would signal the end for Cody Rhodes.

The son of the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, lacked a good gimmick, didn't show much charisma and just didn't look like a superstar.

It felt almost like a stakeout as we all watched Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes each try to make it on their own. DiBiase made it easy for fans to give up on him and walk away, while Cody seemed to float around for a little bit. Fans even called for his release until he began to do better in the ring.

Eventually, Rhodes became "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and was given a following. People were on board with Rhodes being obsessed with his looks and the way people perceived him.

Rhodes even won short-lived tag-team gold with Drew McIntyre. But that hardly mattered for Cody. From his unique entrance music to his obsession with mirrors and vignettes with beauty tips, Cody Rhodes was becoming a great heel and a rising star.

There was one fatal flaw with his "Dashing" gimmick: Cody Rhodes hated to be hit in the face. It cost him points in legitimacy and even cost him some matches. It was a tedious thing to see for fans of Rhodes, especially when he was looked upon as a wimp with no kneepads to critics.

That all changed in January 2011.

Rhodes was in a match with Rey Mysterio, who has had one of the highest winning percentages of any superstar in 2011. With the Royal Rumble looming, you could imagine that this was going to be all about Mysterio "defying the odds" and pulling a victory out of thin air.

He did just that, but he also did so much more. He forever changed the legacy of Cody Rhodes. Mysterio has had knee problems in recent years and hit a 619 at the end of the match to beat Rhodes. Mysterio's knee brace hit and broke Rhodes' nose.

On the February 25 episode of Smackdown, Rhodes returned to the ring with his father, Dusty Rhodes, in what was initially a discussion between the men and Mysterio. Rhodes became a full-fledged heel in that segment, attacking Mysterio violently and stealing away his mask, a feat that few have ever done.

This set up a WrestleMania match between the two in Rhodes' home state of Georgia.

The crowd at WrestleMania cheered incredibly for Cody Rhodes that night. His catchy music was now slow and menacing. His stylish jacket that he wore to the ring no longer had a mirror on it, and it had a hood to cover his face.

Rhodes had been shell shocked, so much so that he called himself hideous and hid his face. It made it all the more ironic that he wore a see-through protective mask, making Rhodes' new gimmick very dark with multiple layers.

A back-and-forth match got the Atlanta crowd warmed up in a way that not even the opening world title match could have. This was one of the most popular superstars in WWE getting a 25-year-old guy over as a menacing heel.

Knee braces and protective masks were used well as the two told one of the best stories of the night. It will always be lost in the shuffle, but Cody Rhodes' victory, ironically, could have been called match of the night.

The match overshadowed many others on the card despite being just the second match of the night and coming after the World Heavyweight Championship match. It didn't have the intrigue of Randy Orton and CM Punk or the hype of Triple H and The Undertaker, but Rhodes and Mysterio still sticks out because a star was born that night.

Everyone who watched that fight live or on pay-per-view could see that. It was just the third loss by Mysterio at WrestleMania, and his first since WrestleMania XX, meaning Rhodes truly had arrived.

From that point on, the question became when Cody would have single's gold around his waist. His character kept developing, as he began to talk more about the hideous faces in the crowd and had people bring paper bags to fans at ringside.

At one point, on a depleted Smackdown after Edge's retirement, Rhodes was one of the top heels on the brand. It only seemed like a matter of time before he would challenge for the Intercontinental Championship.

On the Smackdown tapings of August 9, the week before SummerSlam, Rhodes defeated Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Championship. Crickets were everywhere.

For a guy that was so popular with fans, and with Smackdown being notorious for title changes leaking before they aired, Rhodes had little to no hype for his title victory. He also was not featured that weekend at SummerSlam, which was another headscratcher.

Rhodes has now been Intercontinental Champion for 45 days, about halfway to passing Wade Barrett for the longest reign with the title in 2011. With constant title changes happening in WWE, Rhodes is already the third-longest current reign in WWE, behind Kelly Kelly's Divas Championship and Dolph Ziggler's United States Championship.

Historically speaking, Rhodes is about a week away from entering the top 50 in days reigning as Intercontinental Champion.

His half-brother, Goldust, is a three-time champion with the belt, but Goldust had never held the title in one single reign for longer than 83 days. Rhodes can tie his brother's mark on Halloween night.

However, I can see larger things for Rhodes, beyond passing family members. Let's break out Santino Marella's old Honk-a-Meter.

The Honky Tonk Man, of all people, is the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all-time with a reign of 454 days. This was done pretty much to punish Ricky Steamboat, who chose to take time off to spend with his family. Steamboat was slated for the honor, but it was given to HTM, a gimmick of a guy trying to be Elvis. Honky Tonk Man made the gimmick his own, which is his only saving grace from being considered a joke.

If Cody Rhodes really wants to bring prestige back to what I still think is the most prestigious belt in WWE history, Rhodes and his Intercontinental Championship reign need to last long.

What better way to bring class back to the belt than to challenge the record held by Jerry Lawler's cousin? If Rhodes wants to do that, matching Honky Tonk Man's record would take his single reign into November 2012.

It sounds like a very difficult task to do, especially in the current age of titles being passed around from person to person.

But Cody Rhodes is one of the best out there today, and he is only 26 years old right now. He is in no rush to become a world champion just yet, and having him rule over the mid-card with very few great contenders makes this a possible outcome.

Could Cody Rhodes become the greatest Intercontinental Champion ever? Perhaps. What may be better is that he will usher back the age of the belt-making new stars.

The same title that made The Ultimate Warrior, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton and many others household names, the Intercontinental Championship has welcomed its 69th different holder of the title.

Cody Rhodes is a star, but he will become a superstar to watch in the coming months as he tries to be the greatest Intercontinental Champion of this generation.